diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index ca9e95fa7..fb6fda4b4 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@
   </parent>
 
   <scm>
-      <connection>scm:git:git://github.com/Piasecki-grid/maven-project</connection>
-    <developerConnection>scm:git:ssh://git@github.com:Piasecki-grid/maven-project</developerConnection>
+      <connection>scm:git:git://github.com/Piasecki-grid/maven-project.git</connection>
+    <developerConnection>scm:git:ssh://git@github.com:Piasecki-grid/maven-project.git</developerConnection>
     <url>https://github.com/Piasecki-grid/maven-project</url>
   </scm>
   <groupId>org.springframework.samples</groupId>
@@ -161,6 +161,15 @@
 
   <build>
     <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+    <artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
+    <version>3.0.1</version>
+    <configuration>
+        <serverId>github</serverId>
+    </configuration>
+</plugin>
+
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-enforcer-plugin</artifactId>
diff --git a/pom.xml.releaseBackup b/pom.xml.releaseBackup
deleted file mode 100644
index ca9e95fa7..000000000
--- a/pom.xml.releaseBackup
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,460 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
-  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
-
-  <parent>
-    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>3.4.0</version>
-    <relativePath></relativePath>
-  </parent>
-
-  <scm>
-      <connection>scm:git:git://github.com/Piasecki-grid/maven-project</connection>
-    <developerConnection>scm:git:ssh://git@github.com:Piasecki-grid/maven-project</developerConnection>
-    <url>https://github.com/Piasecki-grid/maven-project</url>
-  </scm>
-  <groupId>org.springframework.samples</groupId>
-  <artifactId>spring-petclinic</artifactId>
-  <version>3.4.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
-
-  <name>petclinic</name>
-
-  <properties>
-
-    <!-- Generic properties -->
-    <java.version>17</java.version>
-    <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
-    <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
-    <!-- Important for reproducible builds. Update using e.g. ./mvnw versions:set
-        -DnewVersion=... -->
-    <project.build.outputTimestamp>2024-11-28T14:37:52Z</project.build.outputTimestamp>
-
-    <!-- Web dependencies -->
-    <webjars-locator.version>1.0.1</webjars-locator.version>
-    <webjars-bootstrap.version>5.3.3</webjars-bootstrap.version>
-    <webjars-font-awesome.version>4.7.0</webjars-font-awesome.version>
-
-    <checkstyle.version>10.20.1</checkstyle.version>
-    <jacoco.version>0.8.12</jacoco.version>
-    <libsass.version>0.2.29</libsass.version>
-    <lifecycle-mapping>1.0.0</lifecycle-mapping>
-    <maven-checkstyle.version>3.6.0</maven-checkstyle.version>
-    <nohttp-checkstyle.version>0.0.11</nohttp-checkstyle.version>
-    <spring-format.version>0.0.43</spring-format.version>
-
-  </properties>
-
-  <dependencies>
-    <!-- Spring and Spring Boot dependencies -->
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-cache</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-validation</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <!-- Workaround for AOT issue (https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-framework/pull/33949) -->
-      <groupId>io.projectreactor</groupId>
-      <artifactId>reactor-core</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-
-    <!-- Databases - Uses H2 by default -->
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>com.h2database</groupId>
-      <artifactId>h2</artifactId>
-      <scope>runtime</scope>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>com.mysql</groupId>
-      <artifactId>mysql-connector-j</artifactId>
-      <scope>runtime</scope>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.postgresql</groupId>
-      <artifactId>postgresql</artifactId>
-      <scope>runtime</scope>
-    </dependency>
-
-    <!-- Caching -->
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>javax.cache</groupId>
-      <artifactId>cache-api</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>com.github.ben-manes.caffeine</groupId>
-      <artifactId>caffeine</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-
-    <!-- Webjars -->
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.webjars</groupId>
-      <artifactId>webjars-locator-lite</artifactId>
-      <version>${webjars-locator.version}</version>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.webjars.npm</groupId>
-      <artifactId>bootstrap</artifactId>
-      <version>${webjars-bootstrap.version}</version>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.webjars.npm</groupId>
-      <artifactId>font-awesome</artifactId>
-      <version>${webjars-font-awesome.version}</version>
-    </dependency>
-
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-testcontainers</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-      <artifactId>spring-boot-docker-compose</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.testcontainers</groupId>
-      <artifactId>junit-jupiter</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
-    </dependency>
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>org.testcontainers</groupId>
-      <artifactId>mysql</artifactId>
-      <scope>test</scope>
-    </dependency>
-
-    <dependency>
-      <groupId>jakarta.xml.bind</groupId>
-      <artifactId>jakarta.xml.bind-api</artifactId>
-    </dependency>
-
-  </dependencies>
-
-  <build>
-    <plugins>
-      <plugin>
-        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-        <artifactId>maven-enforcer-plugin</artifactId>
-        <executions>
-          <execution>
-            <id>enforce-java</id>
-            <goals>
-              <goal>enforce</goal>
-            </goals>
-            <configuration>
-              <rules>
-                <requireJavaVersion>
-                  <message>This build requires at least Java ${java.version},
-                                        update your JVM, and
-                                        run the build again</message>
-                  <version>${java.version}</version>
-                </requireJavaVersion>
-              </rules>
-            </configuration>
-          </execution>
-        </executions>
-      </plugin>
-      <plugin>
-        <groupId>io.spring.javaformat</groupId>
-        <artifactId>spring-javaformat-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${spring-format.version}</version>
-        <executions>
-          <execution>
-            <goals>
-              <goal>validate</goal>
-            </goals>
-            <phase>validate</phase>
-          </execution>
-        </executions>
-      </plugin>
-      <plugin>
-        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-        <artifactId>maven-checkstyle-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${maven-checkstyle.version}</version>
-        <dependencies>
-          <dependency>
-            <groupId>com.puppycrawl.tools</groupId>
-            <artifactId>checkstyle</artifactId>
-            <version>${checkstyle.version}</version>
-          </dependency>
-          <dependency>
-            <groupId>io.spring.nohttp</groupId>
-            <artifactId>nohttp-checkstyle</artifactId>
-            <version>${nohttp-checkstyle.version}</version>
-          </dependency>
-        </dependencies>
-        <executions>
-          <execution>
-            <id>nohttp-checkstyle-validation</id>
-            <goals>
-              <goal>check</goal>
-            </goals>
-            <phase>validate</phase>
-            <configuration>
-              <configLocation>src/checkstyle/nohttp-checkstyle.xml</configLocation>
-              <sourceDirectories>${basedir}</sourceDirectories>
-              <includes>**/*</includes>
-              <excludes>**/.git/**/*,**/.idea/**/*,**/target/**/,**/.flattened-pom.xml,**/*.class</excludes>
-              <propertyExpansion>config_loc=${basedir}/src/checkstyle/</propertyExpansion>
-            </configuration>
-          </execution>
-        </executions>
-      </plugin>
-      <plugin>
-        <groupId>org.graalvm.buildtools</groupId>
-        <artifactId>native-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-      </plugin>
-      <plugin>
-        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-        <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-        <executions>
-          <execution>
-            <!-- Spring Boot Actuator displays build-related information
-              if a META-INF/build-info.properties file is present -->
-            <goals>
-              <goal>build-info</goal>
-            </goals>
-            <configuration>
-              <additionalProperties>
-                <encoding.source>${project.build.sourceEncoding}</encoding.source>
-                <encoding.reporting>${project.reporting.outputEncoding}</encoding.reporting>
-                <java.source>${java.version}</java.source>
-                <java.target>${java.version}</java.target>
-              </additionalProperties>
-            </configuration>
-          </execution>
-        </executions>
-      </plugin>
-      <plugin>
-        <groupId>org.jacoco</groupId>
-        <artifactId>jacoco-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>${jacoco.version}</version>
-        <executions>
-          <execution>
-            <goals>
-              <goal>prepare-agent</goal>
-            </goals>
-          </execution>
-          <execution>
-            <id>report</id>
-            <goals>
-              <goal>report</goal>
-            </goals>
-            <phase>prepare-package</phase>
-          </execution>
-        </executions>
-      </plugin>
-
-      <!-- Spring Boot Actuator displays build-related information if a git.properties file is
-      present at the classpath -->
-      <plugin>
-        <groupId>io.github.git-commit-id</groupId>
-        <artifactId>git-commit-id-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-        <configuration>
-          <failOnNoGitDirectory>false</failOnNoGitDirectory>
-          <failOnUnableToExtractRepoInfo>false</failOnUnableToExtractRepoInfo>
-        </configuration>
-      </plugin>
-      <!-- Spring Boot Actuator displays sbom-related information if a CycloneDX SBOM file is
-      present at the classpath -->
-      <plugin>
-        <?m2e ignore?>
-        <groupId>org.cyclonedx</groupId>
-        <artifactId>cyclonedx-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-      </plugin>
-
-    </plugins>
-  </build>
-  <licenses>
-    <license>
-      <name>Apache License, Version 2.0</name>
-      <url>https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0</url>
-    </license>
-  </licenses>
-
-  <repositories>
-    <repository>
-      <snapshots>
-        <enabled>true</enabled>
-      </snapshots>
-      <id>spring-snapshots</id>
-      <name>Spring Snapshots</name>
-      <url>https://repo.spring.io/snapshot</url>
-    </repository>
-    <repository>
-      <snapshots>
-        <enabled>false</enabled>
-      </snapshots>
-      <id>spring-milestones</id>
-      <name>Spring Milestones</name>
-      <url>https://repo.spring.io/milestone</url>
-    </repository>
-  </repositories>
-  <pluginRepositories>
-    <pluginRepository>
-      <snapshots>
-        <enabled>true</enabled>
-      </snapshots>
-      <id>spring-snapshots</id>
-      <name>Spring Snapshots</name>
-      <url>https://repo.spring.io/snapshot</url>
-    </pluginRepository>
-    <pluginRepository>
-      <snapshots>
-        <enabled>false</enabled>
-      </snapshots>
-      <id>spring-milestones</id>
-      <name>Spring Milestones</name>
-      <url>https://repo.spring.io/milestone</url>
-    </pluginRepository>
-  </pluginRepositories>
-
-  <profiles>
-    <profile>
-      <id>css</id>
-      <build>
-        <plugins>
-          <plugin>
-            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-            <artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
-            <executions>
-              <execution>
-                <id>unpack</id>
-                <goals>
-                  <goal>unpack</goal>
-                </goals>
-                <?m2e execute onConfiguration,onIncremental?>
-                <phase>generate-resources</phase>
-                <configuration>
-                  <artifactItems>
-                    <artifactItem>
-                      <groupId>org.webjars.npm</groupId>
-                      <artifactId>bootstrap</artifactId>
-                      <version>${webjars-bootstrap.version}</version>
-                    </artifactItem>
-                  </artifactItems>
-                  <outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/webjars</outputDirectory>
-                </configuration>
-              </execution>
-            </executions>
-          </plugin>
-
-          <plugin>
-            <groupId>com.gitlab.haynes</groupId>
-            <artifactId>libsass-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-            <version>${libsass.version}</version>
-            <configuration>
-              <inputPath>${basedir}/src/main/scss/</inputPath>
-              <outputPath>${basedir}/src/main/resources/static/resources/css/</outputPath>
-              <includePath>${project.build.directory}/webjars/META-INF/resources/webjars/bootstrap/${webjars-bootstrap.version}/scss/</includePath>
-            </configuration>
-            <executions>
-              <execution>
-                <?m2e execute onConfiguration,onIncremental?>
-                <goals>
-                  <goal>compile</goal>
-                </goals>
-                <phase>generate-resources</phase>
-              </execution>
-            </executions>
-          </plugin>
-        </plugins>
-      </build>
-    </profile>
-    <profile>
-      <id>m2e</id>
-      <activation>
-        <property>
-          <name>m2e.version</name>
-        </property>
-      </activation>
-      <build>
-        <pluginManagement>
-          <plugins>
-            <!-- This plugin's configuration is used to store Eclipse m2e settings
-              only. It has no influence on the Maven build itself. -->
-            <plugin>
-              <groupId>org.eclipse.m2e</groupId>
-              <artifactId>lifecycle-mapping</artifactId>
-              <version>${lifecycle-mapping}</version>
-              <configuration>
-                <lifecycleMappingMetadata>
-                  <pluginExecutions>
-                    <pluginExecution>
-                      <pluginExecutionFilter>
-                        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                        <artifactId>maven-checkstyle-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <versionRange>[1,)</versionRange>
-                        <goals>
-                          <goal>check</goal>
-                        </goals>
-                      </pluginExecutionFilter>
-                      <action>
-                        <ignore></ignore>
-                      </action>
-                    </pluginExecution>
-                    <pluginExecution>
-                      <pluginExecutionFilter>
-                        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
-                        <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <versionRange>[1,)</versionRange>
-                        <goals>
-                          <goal>build-info</goal>
-                        </goals>
-                      </pluginExecutionFilter>
-                      <action>
-                        <ignore></ignore>
-                      </action>
-                    </pluginExecution>
-                    <pluginExecution>
-                      <pluginExecutionFilter>
-                        <groupId>io.spring.javaformat</groupId>
-                        <artifactId>spring-javaformat-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <versionRange>[0,)</versionRange>
-                        <goals>
-                          <goal>validate</goal>
-                        </goals>
-                      </pluginExecutionFilter>
-                      <action>
-                        <ignore></ignore>
-                      </action>
-                    </pluginExecution>
-                  </pluginExecutions>
-                </lifecycleMappingMetadata>
-              </configuration>
-            </plugin>
-          </plugins>
-        </pluginManagement>
-      </build>
-    </profile>
-  </profiles>
-</project>
diff --git a/release.properties b/release.properties
index 7ba8de1e7..9d193bf7e 100644
--- a/release.properties
+++ b/release.properties
@@ -1,15 +1,13 @@
 #release configuration
-#Sat Jan 04 18:03:58 CET 2025
-completedPhase=scm-commit-release
+#Sat Jan 04 18:40:21 CET 2025
+completedPhase=check-poms
 exec.pomFileName=pom.xml
 exec.snapshotReleasePluginAllowed=false
 pinExternals=false
 preparationGoals=clean verify
-project.dev.org.springframework.samples\:spring-petclinic=5-SNAPSHOT
-project.rel.org.springframework.samples\:spring-petclinic=4
-project.scm.org.springframework.samples\:spring-petclinic.connection=scm\:git\:git\://github.com/Piasecki-grid/maven-project
-project.scm.org.springframework.samples\:spring-petclinic.developerConnection=scm\:git\:ssh\://git@github.com\:Piasecki-grid/maven-project
-project.scm.org.springframework.samples\:spring-petclinic.tag=spring-petclinic-4
+project.scm.org.springframework.samples\:spring-petclinic.connection=scm\:git\:git\://github.com/Piasecki-grid/maven-project.git
+project.scm.org.springframework.samples\:spring-petclinic.developerConnection=scm\:git\:ssh\://git@github.com\:Piasecki-grid/maven-project.git
+project.scm.org.springframework.samples\:spring-petclinic.tag=HEAD
 project.scm.org.springframework.samples\:spring-petclinic.url=https\://github.com/Piasecki-grid/maven-project
 projectVersionPolicyConfig=<projectVersionPolicyConfig>${projectVersionPolicyConfig}</projectVersionPolicyConfig>\n
 projectVersionPolicyId=default
@@ -21,6 +19,5 @@ scm.commentPrefix=[maven-release-plugin]
 scm.developmentCommitComment=@{prefix} prepare for next development iteration
 scm.releaseCommitComment=@{prefix} prepare release @{releaseLabel}
 scm.rollbackCommitComment=@{prefix} rollback the release of @{releaseLabel}
-scm.tag=spring-petclinic-4
 scm.tagNameFormat=@{project.artifactId}-@{project.version}
-scm.url=scm\:git\:ssh\://git@github.com\:Piasecki-grid/maven-project
+scm.url=scm\:git\:ssh\://git@github.com\:Piasecki-grid/maven-project.git